TazG

just wondering what's the safest oil viscosity i can use for my 7th gen? i'm using 5w-20 and my car usually has a hard time starting. my starter just went 2 weeks ago and i'm wondering if it could have been caused by the cold.

i'm looking for an affordable block heater as well, the average low here in january is -28C.

REXAZZ2

Look in the owners manual
there is a chart showing oil grades vs ambient temperatures

When was the last time you replaced the spark plugs and air filter ?

Something else I would look at it a better battery

ezone

5w20 and 0w20 are both approved by Honda. 0w20 will help cold cranking a little, it's thinner than the 5w when cold.

Block heater and battery warmer will help of course......

Your starter was probably just due, likely no fault of the engine oil.
Make sure the battery, cables, and all connection points are good as well.

mikey1

5w20 should still be fine at those temps,

if your having trouble starting, i think your problems are elsewhere,

it gets down to -20C or more where i am.....i have no issues starting, first crank every time

Slumpertcivic

Speaking as a native Texan, if it’s -20c outside shouldn’t y’all be driving snowmobiles instead of a civic?

mikey1

a snowmobile is a luxury around here.....if my car won't start this is my only mode of transportation.....

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

lol!

TazG

so here's me starting it in -32c


as you notice in the video, i often get the main relay under the dash clicking coinciding with the drop in rpms. this started the same time my alternator ground got ****ed up and surged the ecu.

i've since repaired this, but the rpm drop and relay clicking rear their ugly head from time to time, usually when it's quite cold.

when it first happened it wouldn't go out of limp mode, but now miraculously it just stops and you can drive it like normal.

is there any easy way to go about fixing this? i don't feel like spending a lot of money.

D17VTECPOWER

iTrader: (1)

I would definitely use full synthetic oil, and I would personally use 0w20. But you can use 5w20 if you want. A better quality/stronger battery would also be a good idea if you want to improve cold starts.

Slumpertcivic

Have to admit, that is the first time I have seen a cars instument cluster look and sound like a pinball game..

definitely would put put a small ceramic space heater on the passenger floorboard and see if heating up the inside of the car for hour before starting makes any difference.

ezone

#1 I wonder if it's still got loose alternator bolts
#2 that BELT SQUEAL says the alt belt still is not tight enough
#3 the screaming whine I can't tell if it's from the steering pump or the oil pump, but it sounds horrible
#4 try to avoid revving the engine up like that until it's had time to get fluids circulating, quiet down, and a little warm

TazG

nope

you are correct, it loses tension about every 40,000 km i have to retighten it

it's power steering

yes i only have to rev it a bit when it's really cold otherwise it'll just die, went a bit too high in the video i usually leave it around 2k

ezone

Well it looks like SOMETHING is causing the PCM to reset repeatedly..... Poor grounds for block and trans?

TazG

any idea where i can find the ground for the trans? if the block ground is this wire:



then yep it's good

i tightened the serpentine belt and it wouldn't start today, the green immobilizer key was flashing repeatedly. after eventually removing the key and attempting to start a few times it went away and it finally started. at that point the pcm kept resetting and it was running like ****, no tach and could barely drive it. (limp mode, not sure if that's the correct term though)

half hour ago i just went out and started it and it ran fine, no pcm resetting.

it's worth mentioning that this all started about 60,000 km ago when the alternator bolts broke off while driving. it was in limp mode, running rich and with literally no power. i drove it like this for 1400 km and once i got back home, it just randomly stopped resetting the pcm and going into limp mode.

60,000km later it has started doing it again quite frequently, although it will go away eventually.

D17VTECPOWER

iTrader: (1)

There is another ground going from battery negative to the transmission. Is that one good too?

ezone

Just having a strap there isn't the same as making sure it can do the job it needs to be able to do. Can it handle 100+ amps of current without significant voltage drop?
The area of the engine it attaches to looks pretty damn cruddy, makes me wonder just how much rust and corrosion are on the bolt, eyelet, and aluminum mounting pad.
The other end where it bolts to the body, has the paint been sanded away so the cable can contact fresh clean steel? Paint doesn't conduct electricity very good, neither does rust and aluminum oxide.

The other ground is the neg cable from battery to body to transmission


All cable attachments need to be cleaned to expose fresh bare metal on the cable terminals, the mounting points, and the fasteners, like this:





The smaller pair of wires are the major PCM grounds for just about everything the PCM controls on the engine.

Flashing while you try to crank it, or flashing after you turn the key off?
Right now I'm amazed the symptoms of PCM burnout go away at all. Seems like there's still hope.

D17VTECPOWER

iTrader: (1)

Good point about checking the little wires that connect by the thermostat housing. Also, I agree that the ground strap must be tightly bolted to clean surfaces to have a good connection. I would suggest removing it, sanding the ends and where it connects to, and reinstalling it. My Civic had electrical issues when the 4 little ground wires became loose in the connector. I would also suggest removing and cleaning the battery terminals. If you don't have a terminal brush, you can use a wire brush or sandpaper.

ezone

Fabricate a new ground cable that runs from the alternator housing to the neg battery clamp bolt? I wonder how many issues that could possibly eliminate.

dsm482

jesus i started mine -40c where i live, u got some belt issues ..

i let mine warm up, no revving when its that cold and i use 5w30

D17VTECPOWER

iTrader: (1)

The factory ground looks pretty bad. I would suggest installing a grounding kit and cleaning the factory grounds, including the wiring harness ground. The grounds you want to upgrade are motor to body and battery to motor. Just make sure that you sand the connections down to shiny metal before you install grounds. I installed a bunch of extra grounds, but those are the main ones you need. I saw significant improvements on my Civic when I built and installed a grounding kit.

TazG

-40c in new york? you sure about that?

flashing repeatedly while cranking and running. i had to turn it over for about 15 seconds for it to start with the immobilizer key flashing. it was continuing to flash while running, no tach and running poorly.

it would stall out if i didn't give it some gas, so i let it warm up for a few minutes then shut it off. this time when i turned the key into the ON position the immobilizer light flashed a few times then went out (as it should). then started the car effortlessly and a few ecm resets later no symptoms whatsoever.

i'll get to work cleaning the grounds and checking the transmission ground. unfortunately it's -30's all week.

quite frankly i'm not sure if the car will survive this winter. i bought it 2 years ago for $500 CAD and it has certainly past my expectations in every regard, but it's getting rougher than rough now. it wouldn't be so bad if i had somewhere inside i can work on it, but working in the cold on the street is pretty brutal

ezone

Haha, I think that would make the national news lol



PCM is apparently operating in backup mode.

All communication is lost between PCM and a scanner, and data is corrupted between the PCM and gauge cluster (and other modules) so 3 out of 4 gauges have no idea what to do.

I can go into detail again about why I think this is happening and tell you that most of these burn out the PCM if it goes on too long.....but as a quickie check I'll suggest you get or make a ground cable to go from the alternator shell (cleaned to shiny bare metal) to the battery negative cable clamp and see if that will stop the majority of the symptoms. (clamping a single jumper cable from one to the other might work just as a test too)


How about putting a voltmeter on it to see if it's charging at some sky high off the chart voltage? (doubt it)

A heat wave for sure.

Y'all are probably laughing at us wimps in the US for crying about a couple inches of snow and the occasional -2*F, meanwhile you guys barbecue outdoors and go swimming.

TazG

so attaching jumper cable ground to the alternator shell and the other ground to the negative battery post? i'll do that next time i go to start it.

i'll try that as well. i was going to wait until the summer to fix the pcm problem. i have a parts car and a garage back home, i read a bit online about swapping out a pcm and ignition.

not me, i hate the cold kinda wishing i was in australia right now haha

ezone

I'm thinking there isn't a good solid grounding for the alternator.
Period.
If that involves grounding of the alt housing itself, or its mounts, or the block/trans, or whatever, the root cause is unequal ground potential between alt and PCM.

-

I'm also thinking that if you adjusted the belt......If you didn't have to loosen that 14mm top bolt to get the alt to move, then that bolt is too damn loose.

If it were actually tight enough then you could loosen the bottom hardware and adjuster bolt, and the alt would not move at all..

Corrosion of the block, mounting bracket, alternator housing, and hardware also can cause the grounding problems.

TazG

that just may be the issue then, as when i tightened the serpentine belt i didn't loosen the alternator bolts. also i had to fit some bolts that weren't exactly the same size of the bolt that is supposed to be in there, it's a little skinnier and not as long. i'll check to see how tight they are and try grounding the alternator

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

out of curiosity, why your description under the username says administrator?

ezone

Slumpertcivic

Well at least you didn’t use duct tape..

TazG

just checked, it was very tight, alternator wouldn't budge. any real mechanics around or just you armchair mechanics? also tried your suggestion of grounding the alternator with cables and no change. the only thing more frustrating than this problem is your stupidity.

if that were indeed the problem, why would it suddenly preset itself 60,000 km later? there is no logic in your reasoning at all.


useless git

sdaidoji

iTrader: (1)

Huh, you have been talking with a real mechanic, if you can't tell.